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« February 7, 2008 | Today | February 11, 2008 » February 8, 2008Tonight: Ballet by the masters in Providence“Masters of Motion: Three Great Ballets by Three Masters” will be performed tonight at 7:30 p.m. by Festival Ballet at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Providence. It includes Viktor Plotnikov’s "Coma," Agnes De Mille’s "Rodeo," and Antony Tudor’s "The Leaves Are Fading." Tickets are $17 to $62. For more information, call the VMA box office at (401) 272-4862 or go to www.festivalballet.com. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:45 PM | Comment Bridge's weight limit lowered in BurrillvillePROVIDENCE -- The state Department of Transportation has lowered the weight limit on the Shippee Bridge in Burrillville. The DOT announced today that it had reduced the weight from five tons to three tons after finding that certain parts of the bridge were deteriorating. DOT Director Jerome Williams says the new weight limit will be in effect while the bridge is repaired. In addition, traffic on the bridge will be reduced to one-way for northbound and southbound traffic. Cars coming from opposite directions will have to wait their turn before they can cross. The bridge carries Route 98 over the Nipmuc River. -- The Associated Press Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:42 PM | Comment Last rides on horizon for Providence-Newport ferryPROVIDENCE -- The state’s popular high-speed ferry from Providence to Newport, a breezy way to see Narragansett Bay from one end to the other, will end this fall, Rhode Island Public Transit Authority officials say. The cause is the expiration of the last of a series of federal grants that the authority has used, sometimes imaginatively, to keep the seasonal service going. The ferry service will resume May 16 after a winter break and make its last trips on Oct. 16, the authority said. Since 2000, the ferry has offered a pleasant trip and a great view of the Bay in place of spending time on the highway and finding parking in Newport. The ferry, the Ocean State, is a 68-foot catamaran that cruises at 30 knots, carries up to 146 passengers and leaves a kid-satisfying white wake. On a good day, people hustle to get a seat on its open upper deck.
The ferry service had a literally bumpy start. It initially docked at Point Street, inside the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. That forced its skipper to make a dicey passage through one of the barrier’s openings, a space so narrow that the ferry hit the barrier. In 2006, it moved to its present berth, Conley’s Wharf, off Allens Avenue near the head of Providence Harbor. The move got passengers better parking, cut the trip to Newport by 10 minutes, to about an hour, and avoids the hurricane barrier. In Newport Harbor, the ferry docks at Perrotti Park, on America’s Cup Avenue. “We’ve been very pleased to see the positive reception" the ferry got from residents and tourists, RIPTA General Manager Alfred J. Moscola said. Ridership hit 47,002 last year, its highest, he said. The ferry has, however, never been self-supporting. The adult fare this season will be $8 one-way, and $16 for a round trip. Meanwhile, the federal government is paying $575,000 per year, Moscola said, for a total of $5,175,000. The operating loss in 2007 was $107,000, according to preliminary RIPTA figures. With the whole state budget under pressure and RIPTA’s buses full to the point that some passengers are being left behind, the state government isn’t likely to pick up the cost of running the ferry. But even as it announced the ferry’s end, RIPTA hasn’t entirely given up on it. Henry Kinch, RIPTA’s deputy general manager, said he expects that a legislation will be filed in the current General Assembly session to cause the state to assume the ferry’s cost, which he estimated at $450,000 per year. "I hope that people see the value in it," and see the ferry as part of a range of transportation options that RIPTA should offer, he said. Posted by Mike McKinney at 6:33 PM | Comment Five-and-half towns into one? Welcome to 'Westconnaug'It would give birth to the biggest town in the littlest state. A Coventry lawmaker wants Exeter, West Greenwich, Foster, Scituate, Glocester and western Coventry to become one -- a land called "Westconnaug." That would be pronounced West-ka-nog, according to state Rep. Nicholas Gorham, R-Coventry, who says he is prepared to introduce an act "to dramatically bring the towns of western Rhode Island into the 21st Century." Gorham said in an interview that he is serious about introducing the legislation and said the bill in draft form -- the form in which bills appear on the General Assembly's Web site -- could be drafted by Tuesday and available mid-week. If the voters of the proposed new town voted in favor of the act at the 2008 general election, "Westconnaug would come into existence on July 1, 2009." The towns of western Rhode Island were created, Gorham says, "in a time when travel was by horse and limited areas could be served by town government. Those days are past. There are tremendous advantages to consolidation of services -- not just in money saved by the elimination of duplicate departments, but in professional and efficient government." Gorham would give Westconnaug a seven-member town council with an appointed town administrator and a five-member school committee appointed by the council. There would be a single superintendent instead of six now, and there'd be one administrative staff. "There would be one Police Department with one Chief of Police. There would be one Public Works Department with one Director of Public Works," he says in his press release. "Westconnaug’s office and town hall functions would be combined into a single town hall with a single Town Clerk." Gorham says the proposal does not affect current fire and rescue services -- separate volunteer companies and fire districts would remain. "This is an act whose time has come," he says. A little more than a week ago, Gorham -- known to speak out colorfully on the House floor during legislative debates -- was escorted from Coventry Town Hall by two police officers at a meeting of the Town Council, School Committee and legislative delegation that turned into a shouting match. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with Journal archival reports Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:54 PM | Comment Dismissal of suit against R.I. Catholic officials upheldPROVIDENCE -- While saying it has empathy for her, the state Supreme Court has upheld a judge's dismissal of a Burrillville woman's lawsuit that she brought against Catholic church officials after being raped by a priest who was later convicted of the crime. In October 1978, Mary Ryan became sexually involved with Monsignor Louis W. Dunn in what would become a four-year relationship, the high court opinion made public today says. Dunn was later convicted of first-degree sexual assault and given a suspended sentence. He died in 2001. Dunn was among several priests in the state who "engaged in inappropriate and lamentable sexual abuse" of certain people, the high court said -- 38 civil actions resulted, including Ryan's, against 12 religious figures accused of being perpetrator and non-perpetrator defendants. In summer 2002, all the cases except for Ryan's were settled for $13.5 million. Ryan and her husband had chosen not to be part of the settlement and to pursue a separate case against defendants, the high court says. It was the last remaining such suit against the church officials. A Superior Court judge issued a decision that, based on a three-year statute of limitations, the latest the Ryans could have begun their suit was on June 7, 1985. Their suit had been filed more than 10 years after the limit. The judge also concluded that some legal theories -- known as tolling theories -- were not valid in moving forward with the suit in court. On Sept. 3, 2003, the case was dismissed. The Ryans filed a motion to reconsider, which was denied, and then they appealed to the high court.
Defendants named in case were the Most Rev. Louis E. Gelineau, Most Rev. Daniel P. Reilly, Most Rev. Kenneth A. Angell, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence (a corporation sole), and St. Thomas Church of Manton. Ryan offered testimony that she was induced to perform the acts in part because of love for Dunn and also because of her belief that "each and every act was an act of God." And she testified she held a conviction that, as a priest, Dunn possessed God's power and should be feared and obeyed. Their relationship stopped on June 7, 1982, when Dunn "forcibly had intercourse with Ms. Ryan against her will," the opinion says. Ryan did not reveal the assault or their relationship until 1986, when she told a friend in general terms that she'd had a sexual relationship. The court concludes by saying it has "genuine empathy" for Ryan. "She was the victim of heinous criminal conduct commited by one who showed himself to be unworthy of the honorific title that he once bore, " the opinion says. But it adds that Ryan was called upon to make decisions at times during the process and so was Superior Court judge. The American judicial system "is admirable" as its exists, the court says, but "nevertheless, our judicial system is not a panacea that can satisfy everyone who has recourse to it. Some wrongs and injuries do not lend themselves to full redressment by the judicial system." Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:44 PM | Comment Smoke-shop judge says no to police computer checkPROVIDENCE -- A judge this afternoon decided not to order a computer expert to analyze the State Police computer system for potentially deleted e-mails, denying a motion from lawyers for seven Narragansett Indians charged in the 2003 state police raid on a tribal smoke shop. The defense motion sought to have a computer expert do what's called a forensic analysis on the system to see if e-mails could be retrieved. After hearing testimony this week, Judge Susan E. McGuirl said in Providence County Superior Court that the security concerns, the cost and the improbability that documents would be reocovered outweighed potential benefits to the defense. The judge did offer critical words in court yesterday about the state's efforts to provide evidence in the case. Defense lawyers subpoenaed State Police last month to produce all documents pertaining to the raid after they said they became suspicious about the absence of reports from high-ranking officers at the scene. A court order also had officers inspect computer and paper files. The state has provided hundreds of pages of e-mails, witness statements, a civilian complaint, and a defendant's recorded comments. Some of that came in after what would have been the start date of the trial of seven Narragansett Indians on misdemeanor charges stemming from the raid.
Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:22 PM | Comment DiFazio misdemeanor filed for one yearSOUTH KINGSTOWN -- A misdemeanor fraud case against Dominic DiFazio, a member of the Westerly School Committee and a private contractor, was filed for a year today on the condition that he stay out of trouble and pay $100 to the victims-of-crime fund. Judge William C. Clifton met with the lawyers and agreed that because DiFazio had no record, had paid restitution and the victim had agreed not to prosecute, he would accept a not guilty plea and file the case for a year. DiFazio gave the owner of A-1 Rolloff Disposal in Warwick a payment of $779 in December, but the check bounced. DiFazio made good on the check about a month later. Defense lawyer Michael P. Lynch said that under ordinary circumstances, the case should have been “dismissed out of hand.” After conferring with the judge, he said, he and the special prosecutor reached a resolution, but the town wanted to proceed.
Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:21 PM | Comment Oster trial: Defense tries to establish another theoryPROVIDENCE -- In an effort to establish an alternative theory for the case, the lawyer for accused ex-Lincoln Town Administrator Jonathan F. Oster today repeatedly pointed out that it was another official who caused a contractor the most problems at a playground project site in Lincoln. Questioning by Oster lawyer C. Leonard O'Brien today in part focused on Stephen Balestra, whose office oversaw federal money for the project and who was designated the town contact point for the Fairlawn playground project in the contract. He has been described as a friend of Robert R. Picerno, the former town planning board member who pleaded no contest in 2004 to bribery and conspiracy. The state argues in its case against Oster, who was town administrator from 2000 to 2002 and is on trial for bribery and conspiracy charges, that Picerno, a former Oster political ally, would shake down potential buyers of a piece of town-controlled land on Route 116 -- known as the H&H Screw Co. property -- and Oster would arrange the sale. A videotape of Picerno was part of yesterday's testimony in Providence County Superior Court. O'Brien today asked West Warwick contractor David Wayne Daniel to describe his meetings with Oster on the playground project, which was on a different piece of land in town. Under questioning, Daniel said Oster was cordial and seemed to listen to him. O'Brien focused on a July 20, 2001, meeting -- the last of several Oster had with Daniel in his office -- at which Daniel had arrived early and was able to discuss the project privately with Oster without Balestra present. O'Brien also questioned Daniels about the state police procedures in starting the investigation of the town-controlled land known as the H&H Screw Co. property, a parcel at the heart of the case. Daniel testified that his partner Robert Gelfuso had volunteered to wear a wire and record his dealings with Picerno. Daniel said he himself did not want to do that. O'Brien also questioned Daniel how, when the state police were preparing Daniel for his Feb. 14 meeting with Picerno, they encouraged him to mention Oster's name and to try to get Picerno to say that the money he was being paid was going to the town administrator. But Daniel was not able to do that. Read more about testimony regarding the playground project's role in the case. Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:16 PM | Comment Local zoo concerned about fate of polar bears in wild
But the animals are due back in Rhode Island in about two years, according to Laura Dunn, spokeswoman for the zoo. “They’re probably our most popular exhibit,” she said. “A polar bear is right in our logo. We’re definitely all about polar bears.” Across the world, however, wildlife conservationists are concerned that soon they won’t be seeing many polar bears anywhere. The World Wildlife Federation and other groups are stepping up their campaigns to have the animals listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act after the sale of nearly 30 million acres of offshore Alaska; much of the Chukchi Sea and part of the bears’ habitat. The Minerals Management Service, a division of the Department of the Interior, said in a statement that it is conducting more than 40 Arctic-specific ecological studies to monitor the effects of industry activity. The industry in question being oil. On its Web site the MMS says that the area is “one of the last frontier areas in North America with potential as a significant source for oil and gas.” If the polar bear makes it to the endangered species list, some of the waters contained in the sale might be designated as critical habitat and other protective measure could be put in place. On the MMS Web site, a statement says that if the bear is listed, the service will consult with the Fish and Wildlife service. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson
“Many zoos are already treating polar bears as threatened animals,” she said, managing them under the Species Survival Program. The program aims to maintain a healthy, genetically diverse population of animals, as well as educate the public about threats to the species. One thing the program is not working on, at the moment, is reintroducing the animals into the wild. “The problem is, they don’t have anywhere to go in the first place,” Dunn said. Their survival is closely tied to sea ice. Hopefully there will come a day when things will change,” she added, “and you can have reintroduction areas that are safe and not melting.” Extra: see video of the bears in their natural habitat. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 2:50 PM | Comment Rescued seal has a date with freedom on TuesdayA harp seal rescued on Jan. 16 from Napatree Point in Westerly's Watch Hill section is slated to be released on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration said today. The seal will be released at Blue Shutters beach in Charlestown. Posted by Mike McKinney at 2:33 PM | Comment Photo: Weathering some twists and turns
Posted by Andrea Panciera at 1:26 PM | Comment Coventry man indicted on child molestation chargesA Coventry man has been indicted on several counts of child molestation. Thomas Phillips, 44, of 80 Read Schoolhouse Road ia accused of committing two first-degree child molestation crimes and two second-degree molestation crimes in Coventry on someone 14 or younger between May 1 and Aug. 31, 2002, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch's office said today. Phillips is also accused in the indictment of commiting one second-degree child molestation crime in Coventry on someone 14 or younger in December 2002. The statewide grand jury handed up a secret indictment on Wednesday naming Phillips. Lynch's office screened the case and presented it to the grand jury, which resulted in the secret indictment -- meaning neither an arrest nor a District Court complaint generated it. Coventry Police arrested Phillips, who was brought to Kent County Superior Court yesterday when the indictment was unsealed. He was arraigned before Judge William E. Carnes Jr., who ordered Phillips held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston. A bail hearing is slated for Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. before Judge Carnes. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Posted by Mike McKinney at 1:14 PM | Comment Man gets three more prison years for assaulting guardPROVIDENCE -- A man with a history of criminal convictions got three more years in federal prison today for punching a guard repeatedly in the face and head in May 2006 at Wyatt Federal Detention Center in Central Falls. He was at Wyatt awaiting sentencing in a Massachusetts drug case. Kacey D. Jones, 27, received the sentence from U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith, U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente's office announced. Jones pleaded guilty in July to assaulting the guard. Prosecutor Zechariah Chafee said at the plea hearing the government could show that on May 11, 2006, while Jones and other inmates were waiting to be released to a Wywatt exercise yard, some inmates grew impatient, approached a guard at a desk and demanded to be let into the yard. When the guard told the inmates to move away from the desk, Jones began punching the guard repeatedly in the face and head, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a news release. The two men fell to the floor. Responding to the guard’s alarm, other guards came in and pulled Jones away. The assaulted guard was treated for several injuries at Miriam Hospital. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney Chafee, in a sentencing memorandum filed in connection with the case, described Jones as having a lenghty history of criminal convictions and violence. He was sentenced to prison in 1998 for assaulting a Massachusetts corrections officer and, twice in 2005, Jones assaulted guards at the Hampden County House of Corrections in Massachusetts, the U.S. Attorney's office said. In December 2004, while being arrested for a drug allegation, Jones reached for a loaded handgun, according to the sentencing memorandum. The arrest led to a guilty plea to a federal drug-trafficking offense and Jones' detention at Wyatt, awaiting sentencing in Boston. A federal judge in Boston sentenced Jones in October to 10 years in prison. Smith today imposed a 134-month prison sentence to be served concurrently with the 98 months remaining on the 10-year drug sentence, meaning 36 more months in prison for the assault. Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:44 PM | Comment Oster trial: A playground project under scrutinyPROVIDENCE -- Testimony this morning in the bribery/conspiracy trial of ex-Lincoln Town Administrator Jonathan F. Oster resumed with the defense questioning contractor David Wayne Daniel, whose company had a playground contract with the town in 2001. Daniel had testified earlier under prosecution questioning that town officials had been pestering his crews, but that the scrutiny vanished after he agreed to buy $5,000 worth of political fund-raising tickets from then-town Planning Board member and accused Oster co-conspirator Robert R. Picerno. Defense lawyer C. Leonard O'Brien today used his questioning to lay out the assertion that the town scrutiny on the project was not harassment but, instead, a chief executive -- Oster -- legitimately concerned with getting a troubled project back on schedule. Oster, who served as town administrator from 2000 to 2002, is charged with two counts of bribery and two counts of conspiracy. The state alleges that as part of a conspiracy, Picerno, a former Oster political ally, would shake down potential buyers of a piece of town-controlled land on Route 116 -- known as the H&H Screw Co. property -- and Oster would arrange the sale. Picerno pleaded no contest in 2004 to bribery and conspiracy charges -- a videotape of Picerno took centerstage in yesterday's testimony in Providence County Superior Court. The playground project, on a different property in town, started with a delay because Daniel's company had not gotten the appropriate wetlands permit from state Department of Environmental Management. That was despite documents that specifically said the permit was the contractor's responsibility. Daniel also testified that Oster had been intensely interested in the reasons for the delays from the first time he met the town administrator. Oster had attended a fundraisier for state Sen. Stephen Alves, D-West Warwick, at Daniel's home in June 2001. Daniel testified he was taken aback at the event because the first words out of Oster's mouth were to complain about the delays with the Fairlawn Playground project. Part of the probelm with the permit was that Daniel had sent in the initial application, but the DEM returned it to the town, and no one from the town had told Daniel that. It was after Oster's encounter at the fundrasier that Daniel discovered the miscommunication. O'Brien pointed out in his questioning that Daniel would not have discovered that so soon had Oster not pressed him on the point. Before the morning break, O'Brien went through three weekly July meetings Oster had in his office with Daniel and the town employees who were monitoring the job. Daniel testified that Oster was polite to him at all those sessions, but that the town officials he was working with were not. "It was the other guys who were jumping all over you," O'Brien said, and Daniel agreed. Daniel also talked about confusion about where town officials wanted a foundation built. He said issues over the location caused him to lose a scheduled concrete subcontractor, which caused a further delay. He said that during the Oster meetings, Oster pressed for there to be a single line of communication between the town bureaucracy and Daniel. -- With reports from Journal staff writer John Hill Posted by Mike McKinney at 12:26 PM | Comment Still time - and local place - to mark Chinese new year
The Chinese new year may have started yesterday, but the 15-day celebration of the first new moon in the first month of the lunisolar calendar is still in full swing. So if you had to work during the week but want to welcome the Year of the Rat, there’s still plenty of time. The second day of the Chinese new year is traditionally a day for families to gather – particularly for husbands to get together with their wives’ families. And in Rhode Island, at least one celebration is scheduled for tomorrow at Bryant University’s Multi-purpose Activities Center (MAC). The festival, sponsored by several university groups, will include lion dancing, martial arts demonstrations, a fashion show, music and prizes. It’s free and open to the public, and for $5, you can get lunch. Extra: watch video of thousands in New York City celebrating with fireworks and dragon dances. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 12:22 PM | Comment Journal's McDonald named R.I. Sports Writer of the YearThe Providence Journal's Joe McDonald has been named Rhode Island Sports Writer of the Year for the second time by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. The announcement was made today by the NSSA, which names a sports writer and sportscaster of the year for each of the 50 states. Steve Hyder, play-by-play announcer for the Pawtucket Red Sox, was named Rhode Island Sportscaster of the Year. McDonald also won the award in 2004. Other Providence Journal winners currently on staff include Bill Reynolds, Sean McAdam and Carolyn Thornton. Jim Nantz of CBS Sports and Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe were the national winners. All the award winners will be honored at a dinner at association headquarters in Salisbury, N.C., on May 3-5. See a list of McDonald's most recent stories here. Posted by Art Martone at 11:44 AM | Comment Jury deliberating case of North Providence officerPROVIDENCE — A jury is continuing its deliberations this morning in the Superior Court trial of suspended North Providence police Sgt. Michael Ciresi. Ciresi is charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, receiving a stolen generator, receiving a stolen bracelet (a felony), attempted larceny from a stolen ATM, harboring and obstruction of a police officer. The jury started its deliberations yesterday after listening to lawyers argue whether Ciresi was a “good cop” who has been falsely accused or a “dirty cop” who enlisted his drug-dealing informants to commit crimes for his financial gain. Much of the closing arguments yesterday centered on charges linked to Ciresi’s alleged role in the burglary of a drug dealer’s apartment at 459 East Ave., Pawtucket, two days before Christmas 2004. Jurors ordered lunch this morning, so they could be at work a while longer. Read a full story on the trial and yesterday's testimony. -- With reports from Journal staff writer Richard Dujardin Posted by Jack Perry at 11:21 AM | Comment Today's front pageToday's front page features coverage of a hearing to allow 24-hour gambling at Newport Grand and Twin River. Download a copy of today's front page in .pdf format. Posted by Jack Perry at 11:19 AM | Comment Salve Regina president to step down next yearThe president of Salve Regina University in Newport will be stepping down when her contract expires, in July 2009. Sister M. Therese Antone, president of the university since 1994, will help the board of trustees begin the process of selecting her successor, according to the university. After stepping down, Sister Antone will take a new position as chancellor of the university. In that position, she won’t have a vote on the board of directors, but she will play an advisory role, “Chancellor is more of an emeritus position,” Boxler said. Sister Antone will "stay connected with the top level of the university.” The chancellor position was created in 2005, according to a written statement by Joseph R. DiStefano, chairman of the board of trustees. “Sister Therese Antone has led the dynamic and substantial development of Salve Regina’s academic community and has worked diligently to increase the profile and recognition of the university as a quality, liberal arts institution,” DiStefano said. “Her continued service to Salve Regina ensures the further development of strong relationships with all constituents and a vibrant and influential presence of the Sisters of Mercy.” Sister Antone also serves on the board of directors of The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company. -- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 11:13 AM | Comment Whitehouse hosts community dinner in WoonsocketThe public will have a chance this Sunday to find out what’s going on in Washington when Senator Sheldon Whitehouse returns to the Ocean State and hosts one of his community dinners. The event, at the St. Joseph’s Veteran’s Association at 99 Louise St. in Woonsocket, is free and open to the public. It begins at 6 p.m Attendees will get a chance to ask Whitehouse questions and hear about issue he’s been involved with in Washington, such as the Senate hearings where Whitehouse and other senators questioned Attorney General Michael Mukasey about torture. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 9:37 AM | Comment Judge may decide on smoke shop e-mails todayThe state police may be required to hand over their computers to a specialist who will try to recover deleted emails. A judge in the trial of seven Narragansett Indians accused of misdemeanors stemming form the 2003 smoke shop raid is expected to make a decision on the matter today. Defense lawyers subpoenaed state police last month for all documents related to the raid. The state supplied hundreds of pages of e-mails, witness statements, a civilian complaint, and recorded comments of one of the defendants. Still, Superior Court Judge Susan E. McGuirl said yesterday, “there’s no assurance they have all the statements now." Read the Journal's coverage and see pictures of the 2003 smoke shop raid. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:26 AM | Comment First of two trials begins for Westerly officialThe trial for a Westerly School Committee member accused of writing a bad check is scheduled to begin today. Dominic DiFazio is also facing felony charges for allegedly taking money for contracting work that his company – Dom DiFazio Contracting – never did. In today’s trial, DiFazio faces allegations that he wrote a bad check to a disposal company that did work for his contracting company. The check in question was for less than $1,000 -- $779 – which makes the charge a misdemeanor. The trial is set for District Court, Wakefield. DiFazio also faces felony charges after a couple told the police that he deposited two checks totaling $2,500 to replace windows in their home. The couple said the work was never done, but both checks were deposited. He's scheduled for a pretrial conference for the felony charges on Feb. 18. Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 8:12 AM | Comment Connecticut recovers millions for UCONN dorm problemsSTORRS, Conn. -- State officials say the University of Connecticut will recover $14.98 million spent to fix fire code and safety problems at a dormitory complex. The settlement with an Alabama development company is just over half the $25.5 million UConn has spent to fix problems at the Hilltop Apartments dorm complex. Hilltop is where UConn's construction problems were first discovered in the summer of 2004 when elevated levels of carbon monoxide were detected in two apartments. Emergency inspections of Hilltop and several other dorms found hundreds of fire and safety violations. UConn officials say they're close to signing a settlement with the design builder for the Charter Oak Suites and Charter Oak Apartments, which were plagued by fire code issues. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:04 AM | Comment Domestic violence vigil for man tonight in PawtucketA vigil will be held at 5 p.m. today by the Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence in memory of Richard Gibson, a victim of domestic violence, according to the organization. The vigil will be at 19 Thornton Street, Pawtucket. Posted by Jack Perry at 7:02 AM | Comment A mixed batch of weather on the wayJust like yesterday, we've got rain, freezing rain and snow throughout the day. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high temperature of about 41 degrees and a mild, north wind. Tonight the temperature should drop to the mid-20s. Tomorrow may bring more snow in the morning, then rain later in the day when the temperature rises to about 42 degrees. The rain may turn back to snow tomorrow night -- whichever it is, precipitation is expected to continue through the night and into the early morning when the temperature drops to about 31 degrees. We can also expect a west wind of about 10 mph. Guess what's in store for Sunday? Snow and rain with a high temperature near 36 degrees. We'll have stronger winds, too, with gusts up to 44 mph. And Sunday night it gets really cold, with cloudy skies and a low temperature in the teens. The sun should return Monday and the temperature should just make the freezing point. For weather updates throughout the weekend, visit projo.com's weather page.
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006